COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT - INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACHES

Information Processing ApproachesKey points of Piaget's constructivist theoryPiaget believed that a child... Gradually understands it's world using schemas that develop via maturation (nature) and experience (nurture) Passes through stages that are qualitatively different ­ what the child can and cannot do changes Gradually stops making cognitive `error's such as egocentric thinking and centration as they get older ­ fewer mistakes Is an active constructor of its own knowledge ­ concepts of discovery learning and readiness to learn ­ right stage of maturityInformation processing theoriesThe Information Processing (IP) takes a different approach to Piaget and is considered aneo-Piagetian approach.It is not a single idea, but a collection of theories and models that involve common assumptions.Piaget's ideas are challenged in a number of different ways by the various IP.Assumptions of an IP approach The use of task analysis to identify the separate parts of thinking that are needed to complete a task, e.g. perception, memory, etc Consideration of the information processing over time and the sequence of operations that occur over time The use of the computer analogy to describe human information processing Children are active problem solversInformation processing and cognitive development Cognitive development is seen as a process by which children become capable of processing information in more complex waysFor example Development of working memory, attention (develops) More skilled/efficient use of processes (making sense of the world around you)

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Acquisition of better strategies (making sense of the world around you)According to IP theories cognitive development occurs through...…read more

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Children develop the ability to conserve liquid quantity, mass, number, etc about the age of 7 because concrete operations allow them to grasp their underlying logicIP Approach: Emphasises limitations in the child's ability to process information o 5 year olds get conservation of liquid quantity wrong because they cannot simultaneously process information about height and width Sees development as reflecting quantitative changes in thinking o Children become able to conserve liquid quantity when their processing capacity has increased sufficiently to allow height and width…read more